Every cook worth her salt will tell you never to cook with wine you wouldn’t want to drink. If it’s good for you, it’s good for the pot.
If you can lay your hands on the 2013 Zonnebloem Sauvignon Blanc, you couldn’t do better than to pour a glass for yourself and keep another for your favourite recipe. It will wake up your mouth with a lively rush of fresh, green and beautifully balanced flavours and add depth to your dish.
Cellarmaster Deon Boshoff says the wine has settled into a satiny smoothness and that with a component of bush vines in the blend, it has a very pleasing palate weight. “Just enough body and length for a lovely, lingering enjoyment.”
Sounds easy but did you know that it has been created from as many as 70 individually made wines, sourced from vineyards in Darling, Stellenbosch, not to mention Elgin, Lutzville, Overberg and even Malmesbury, to achieve just the right balance.
Pour a glass and toast the summer with these two simple but sensational chicken dishes that are very calorie-friendly too!
Chicken with lemon, cumin, and parsley
Ingredients
1 medium lemon
3 Tbs olive oil
125ml Zonnebloem Sauvignon Blanc
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
Grate a teaspoon of the lemon rind and then juice the lemon to give you 2 to 3 tablespoons depending on how tangy you like it. Gently fry the onions in the olive oil and as they start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes later, add the garlic. Add a splash of the wine to the pan and after it has been incorporated and the onions have sufficiently softened, add the chicken pieces and the dried chilli flakes, followed by the lemon rind, cumin, and a light sprinkling of salt and cook for 4 to 6 minutes until done. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the parsley and the lemon juice. Season to taste with additional salt.
Serve with a salad and a glass of Zonnebloem.
Roast chicken salad with soy and sesame dressing
Ingredients
1,5kg whole chicken
1 lemon, halved
2,5cm knob of fresh ginger grated or cut into match sticks
1/4 cup of white sesame seeds
1 head of cos or butter lettuce or pillow of mixed lettuce leaves
1 firm but ripe avocado
1 bunch of spring onions chopped
1/2 cup of sugar snap beans
1 cup of baby tomatoes
Few sprigs fresh coriander (optional)
Dressing
60ml Zonnebloem Sauvignon Blanc
3 Tbs sesame oil
3 Tbs soy sauce
grated rind and juice of half a lemon
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Rub the chicken with the cut side up of the lemon halves, squeezing as you do so to release the juices and then insert the lemon halves in the chicken cavity. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for an hour or until the juices run clear, when pricked, but turn every 20 minutes to ensure the bird is fully browned. Leave to cool.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry, non-stick pan at a medium heat until fragrant, between 2 to 4 minutes. Finely grate the ginger or cut into match sticks.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into small pieces and cover in the sesame seeds.
Prepare the dressing by combining the soy sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest and white wine and slowly whisk in the sesame oil.
Plate the lettuce leaves with the halved tomatoes, spring onions, sugar snap beans sliced at an angle, avocado wedges and the ginger sticks. Sprinkle over half the dressing, add the shredded meat, coat in the remainder of the dressing. Top with coriander springs if using and serve immediately with a glass of chilled Zonnebloem Sauvignon Blanc.
If you find you need more dressing, just make another batch and keep what you don’t need in this recipe, for your next salad.
